Silver Steel Cut Lengths

What are Precision Dowel Pins

Dowels pins are solid, usually precision ground within narrow limits to establish accurate fitting. Precision dowels are usually used in holding parts together allowing the tightness of their fit to keep the alignment in place.

Use of Metal Dowel In Machinery

Steel dowel pins are often used as precise locating devices in machinery. Steel dowel pins are set to tight tolerances, as are the corresponding holes in them, which are typically reamed to help with their installation. A dowel pin could have a smaller diameter than its hole so that it slips in freely, or could be larger in diameter so that it must be have added force applied to get it into its hole (this is called an interference fit).

When outlining the design of mechanical components, use dowel holes are typically used by mechanical engineers as reference points to control positioning variations and so repeatable assembly quality can be attained. If the dowels were not used for alignment, the significant play could result in the components alignment causing variation. This variation can be avoided with proper use and installation of dowel pins in the design of any component.

When it comes to drilling, operations might introduce mechanical play with its fasteners. For example, when dowels are used in addition to bolts, the tighter dimensional tolerances of dowels and their mating holes—typically 0.01 mm (0.0004 inches)—result in significantly less play, on the order of 0.02 mm (0.0008 inches). Bolts up to 10 mm (0.394 in) in diameter typically have play on the order of 0.2 mm (0.008 inches). The manufacturing costs are going to be inversely proportional to mechanical tolerances so you must balance you need for mechanical precision against the cost of the materials and other factors such as how easy it is to serviced and if it can be manufactured.

There is quite a variety of specifications for dowels being made - military, ISO, DIN, ASME. Their size can even vary by dowel pin material. Metric Dowel pins are often found in two sizes. In DIN 6325 standard the dowel pins are slightly larger than the nominal value. For example, a 3 mm dowel pin will range from 3.002 to 3.008. In the ISO 2338 standard, the dowel pins are slightly smaller - 3mm nominal range is 2.986 to 3.000. The terminology (e.g. "oversized", "standard") is not entirely consistent across suppliers. In inch pins, "oversized" refers to pins that are more significantly oversized for worn out dowel pin holes. The most common inch sized pins are slightly oversized, and "Undersized" versions are also available.

Automotive dowels are used when precise mating alignment is required, such as in differential gear casings, engines, and transmissions.

We are able to supply or manufacture precision metal dowel pins in metric and imperial sizes. Our manufactured dowels can be of specified diameters, lengths or materials to meet your requirements.

We have the ability to supply all specification of precision dowel pins to customer requirements either small or large diameter precision dowel pins.